The Hush by Sara Foster

Publisher's Synopsis

Lainey's friend Ellis is missing. And she's not the only one.

It's been six months since the first case of a sudden epidemic - when a healthy baby wouldn't take a breath at birth - and the country has been thrown into turmoil. The government has passed sweeping new laws to monitor all citizens. And several young pregnant women have vanished without trace.

As a midwife, Lainey's mum Emma is determined to be there for those who need her. But when seventeen-year-old Lainey finds herself in trouble, this dangerous new world becomes very real. The one person who might help is Emma's estranged mother, but reaching out to her will put them all in jeopardy ...

The Hush is a new breed of thriller, an unflinching look at a society close to tipping point and a story for our times, highlighting the power of female friendship through a dynamic group of women determined to triumph against the odds.

My Review of The Hush by Sara Foster

The Hush is a sobering dystopian story set in a post-pandemic Great Britain. The country is reeling from the effects of the pandemic, global warming and economic problems. But most worrying for the country is the sudden unexplained rate of stillbirths, given the term Intrapartem X, that’s suddenly increasing.

The people of Britain are being closely monitored by the government with the wearing of government issued watches now mandatory and the use of cash has been discontinued. There’s no doubt that the people are being continuously monitored and, to a large extent, being controlled like never before.

Lainey Atkins is a seventeen year old schoolgirl whose life is about to be drastically changed if the pregnancy test that she and her best friend Sereena has just stolen returns a positive result. There have already been an alarming number of pregnant teens who have gone missing, never to be seen again and the government refuses to acknowledge their disappearance despite the growing outcry being heard.

Her mother, Emma, is a midwife at the local hospital and is part of the frontline fight to save every precious new life. Although she’s overworked and exhausted, her life is about to become even more complicated when Lainey, first, is arrested for taking part in an illegal protest and, second, reveals that she’s pregnant.

When there are eyes and ears everywhere monitoring your every move, each conversation, every unexplained trip and all signs of acting against the new government laws could lead to severe consequences. This is the problem facing Emma, Lainey and a few of their friends. So the task of trying to find out what really happened to the missing girls makes this a sizzling thriller with danger found at every turn.

This near-future thriller, where the civil rights of the citizens are no longer respected and a form of martial law has become the norm, pits the people against their government with fear and suspicion becoming the dominant emotions. 

There are one or two slight problems I had with the premise to this story. The main one is that, even though England is the only country in the world suffering the Intrapartem X births, no-one appears to be questioning why it’s happening nowhere else in the world. It seems immediately clear to me that someone has created this epidemic for their own purposes but an entire country appears to have accepted the new status quo without much opposition. Perhaps it’s a commentary on the preparedness of the majority to accept the word of those in power. (Although, as we’ve all witnessed in 2020, that is definitely not how many people actually react).

But because this becomes a pulse-quickeningly fast-paced thriller that surges from one close call to the next, I found myself completely drawn into this parallel world. The Hush is a book that will appeal to readers looking for a well-contrived near future story with a strong and believable warning message. It’s also a story that provides hope that truth and justice can fight back against the morally bankrupt.